He says the inquiry is a "flight of fancy" to appease the hard right of the Liberal Party.

"The problem is that it's not a practical idea for Australia," he told ABC Radio.

"It would be at least a couple of decades before we would be able to get nuclear power stations operating here in Australia."

Director of the Australian National University's Energy Change Institute Kenneth Baldwin says wind and solar paired with battery storage will continue to be the cheapest form of power.

"These costs will decrease and who knows, in 10-15 years, it may simply be uneconomic to look at nuclear power," he told ABC News.

But Prof Baldwin says reviews should be done periodically to understand current technologies and costs.

A review into nuclear energy was last conducted under the Howard government, with a report finding 25 reactors would be needed across Australia to supply one-third of the nation's electricity supply by 2050.